I downloaded this book as a public domain file from LibriVox as I was about to embark on a road trip to Chicago and wanted something to listen to for the 12 hours I would be in the car for the round trip. I rather enjoyed the book. The collection of narrators varied in speed and quality but I got the gist of the book and it made my trip more bearable.

The book was written by Shelley in 1826 and the story took place in the future - the late 21st century. Projections of the future in science fiction are almost always merely just projections of current technology, and so it was in this book- the characters move around using horse-drawn carriages, boats, and balloons. The technology portrayed was pretty much the same as it was in 1826. The story follows the life of main character Lionel Verney from his youth to his late years. The first half or so follows Lionel's life in future English society and in the second half of the book the characters are forced to deal with a plague which moves across the earth and eventually reaches the British Isles. The book is full of interesting characters and to me the overall tone was one of loss and sadness. It was a long listen and my attention drifted a bit but overall I enjoyed it.